Hunwick now in fast lane

Defenseman Matt Hunwick is picking his spots to jump into the play - he has three goals in his last five games - and his solid play enabled the Bruins to send Matt Lashoff back to Providence. (Mike cassese/Reuters)

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's won't be Hallmark entries in Andrew Ference's 2008-09 scrapbook. That's life with a broken leg. NHL players want to be in uniform around the holidays (with time off for good behavior, and a touch of good cheer, of course), and the 29-year-old backliner isn't expected to return to the Bruins' lineup until just after the start of the new year.

For the time being, Matt Hunwick has him covered. In fact, the 23-year-old Hunwick has moved so seamlessly into the Black-and-Gold defensive six-pack that coach Claude Julien might have to look for someone else to dispatch to the press box (with the rest of the wretched and unwashed) when Ference is ready. That kind of depth makes for delicious competition, and perennially winning organizations.

With Hunwick showing few flaws - and three goals in his last five games as part of his fast-growing equity - the Bruins yesterday were comfortable and confident enough to ship extra defenseman Matt Lashoff back to the WannaBs (AHL Providence). Hunwick is no longer perceived as an emergency sweater stuffer, the fill-in from Accountemps. Only a year-plus into his pro career, he's got himself a prime-time gig, and he has been making the most of it with nearly every shift.

"He's picking his spots, going at the right time," said Julien, a minor league defenseman who played briefly in the bigs with the Quebec Nordiques prior to becoming a bench boss. "He's got that ability to jump in at the right time."

Witness: the second period Wednesday night in Buffalo with the Sabres holding a 2-0 lead. David Krejci controlled the puck just inside the offensive blue line, left wing, customarily the patch of ice Hunwick would patrol. Rather than increase the population of that particular precinct of downtown Buffalo, Hunwick opted to rush to the net. Such forays by defensemen are rare in today's systematic, controlled hockey. Julien's Bruins adhere to order better than most teams, and that order rarely finds blueliners "going for a skate" deep in the offensive zone.

"He'll probably end up getting caught at one point," said Julien, impressed with what he has seen of Hunwick. "But right now, it's serving him well."

Hunwick, having slipped down low to join Chuck Kobasew at the top of goaltender Ryan Miller's crease, jumped into the play with an active stick. After Krejci sent the puck down low from the blue line, and held ground as Hunwick's stand-in, Kobasew took a hack or two at the puck that the artful Krejci delivered to Miller's doorstep. But it was Hunwick, rewarded for his alertness and instinct to attack, who finally popped the puck by the Sabres goaltender, cutting the Buffalo lead in half.

Ultimately, the Sabres tagged a 3-2 loss on the Bruins, ending the Black and Gold winning streak at four games, but it was another successful night for Hunwick. The Michigander skated 20 minutes 26 seconds of ice time (a career high), and his goal was one of three shots Hunwick landed (tied with captain Zdeno Chara for the most among Boston defensemen).

Boston blueliner Aaron Ward, a fellow University of Michigan alumni, is not surprised by the newbie's effort. The summer leading up to the 2004-05 lockout, Ward assembled a bunch of skaters for daily on-ice workouts in Canton, Mich., for the month of August. NHL veteran Brian Smolinski was part of the pack, along with Ryan Kesler (then off his freshman showing with the Canucks) and Jack Johnson, the United States defensive sensation who was still about a year away from being selected No. 3 overall by the Hurricanes in 2005. "And you know, as much as Jack got all the attention, and deservedly so, well, Hunwick was no slouch himself," recalled Ward. "I was really impressed with his skating, how he handled himself out there."

Nearly two years older than Johnson, Hunwick was a 2004 seventh-round draft pick, and a throw-in at that, selected 224th by the Bruins. Both Johnson and Hunwick played for the US National Development Team program, and both played for Michigan. Johnson played two years prior to turning pro with the Kings (his rights were traded to Los Angeles in 2006), while Hunwick spent the full four seasons at Ann Arbor prior to turning pro with Scott Gordon's Providence Bruins in the fall of 2007.

Hunwick, with three goals and six points in 10 games, will be on the Garden ice at noon today, dressed in varsity Black and Gold, while Gordon will be the top man behind the Islanders bench.

"Jack's a phenomenal player, a great talent," said Hunwick, reminiscing earlier this week about his time with Johnson in Ann Arbor. "He deserves all the recognition he gets. I'd say he is a flashier, more dazzling player than I am, and I know it helped me to play with him."

Hunwick, though, has shown some flash, including his dash to the front of the net in Buffalo, and the one-timer he drilled by Habs goalie Carey Price last Saturday night in Montreal. Rushing into the slot, with Krejci in control on the left-wing boards, Hunwick fired a hard, low shot that provided the Bruins a temporary lead at Bell Centre.

With his shorter stature and considerable skating ability, along with that sense for the occasional offensive flourish, he might remind some longtime Bruins fans of Greg Hawgood. Perhaps the days of Hawgie Hockey will give way to Hunny Hockey?

"If the opportunity presents itself, yeah, I'll go," said the 5-foot-11-inch, 193-pound Hunwick. "But at the same time, I don't want to force things. Sure, if I can jump up, it's nice."

Just over a quarter of the way through the season, it looks as though the Bruins may have found that needed "puck-moving" upgrade to their blue line. Ference remains on the mend, felled by an Andrei Markov shot Nov. 13. Meanwhile, Matt . . . Matt Hunwick from Skatemps - has got him covered.